Posted on February 21, 2020 at 1:35 PM
ISS World malware attack keeps workers offline
ISS World, a global facilities company, has shut down most of its computer systems around the world due to a cyber attack that infiltrated parts of its IT network.
The company, headquartered in Denmark, described the attack as a security breach that impacted on its IT environment. The firm’s website is out, with the homepage currently showing a holding page at press time.
ISS was targeted on February 17 as a malware infiltrated its IT network with malware. The company is taking precautionary measures to prevent further damage to the system’s data and resources by shutting down most of its operations.
The company said the measures are part of its standard operating measures during such an attack. It said the company immediately shut down access to the sheared IT services on its sites across the network all over the world, to isolate the incident.
Main problem detected
ISS said it has identified the main problem, and it’s currently working with forensic experts to rectify the breach. A special external task force as well as the company’s hosting provider, is working in collaboration to fix the issues and bring service back to normal, according to a statement by the company. ISS said some of the IT systems have already been patched, and customers’ data has not been compromised.
However, some media outlets are blaming the attack on ransomware because of the nature of the attack. But the company has stated that it’s still not sure what type of malware attack infiltrated their system. According to ISS, the company is not clear what type of malware infiltrated the system even though there are strong indications it could be a ransomware attack.
ISS staffs do not depend on computers for some operations
In this world of information technology, many staffs of companies like ISS depend largely on computers to carry out their roles and responsibilities. But that’s not the case with ISS staff. Most of the staff do their jobs directly on customer sites.
Because of the nature of their job, which is working on customer sites to deliver services, the operation of the staff will still go on while the company tries to fix the malware issue on its systems.
According to the company, the main goal is to make sure there is no disruptions in its services while it continues to fix the malware issues. ISS said the staff would continue working and delivering services to its customers through their sites as it pursues full restoration of services on its network.
Many ISS World Staffs do not have emails
A Recent Report revealed that about 43,000 staffs of the company do not have access to emails, which will certainly hinder their operational effectiveness in situations like this.
Presently, ISS World is still estimating when it could completely restore the systems as the different parties are seriously working on it. It will also access any potential financial impact or damage caused as a result of the breach. ISS World says it would provide a further update with additional information when there any significant progress.
Even with the problem the company is facing, it seems it has done two things right. First, it has stated clearly about the situation to inform users and the general public. It did not hide any information as some other companies do when such attacks occur. Secondly, ISS World said it’s going to provide more information when it discovers more information about the situation.
The company said people easily demand answers from companies who suffer cyber attacks. Some of the questions are not based on genuine concerns, especially when the company demands more time to investigate the problem.
However, it’s appealing to ISS World customers to remain patient as they have always done. The company said its staff provide a full review of the situation and offer a complete update when it finally completes the investigation.
